And to that end, governments had a duty to be smart investors helping to build that stronger economy. One policy he called for was to prioritise public buildings for decarbonisation investment. Put simply, installing solar panels on the roofs of schools, hospitals, town halls would be a sensible investment, especially with the historically low interest rates available at the time.

The financial savings made would then go back into the public purse, with the option of lower costs or expanded service provision. At the time, having recently started in this role, I also saw the advantage of exposing the public to the benefits of net zero investments. Over time, the public would get to see how they worked; what the advantages were and yes, what problems could be encountered. This would equip them to make better informed decisions when it came to their own properties.

Fifteen years later, it was good to see the announcement made last week of another tranche of public sector decarbonisation funding,  £74 million on top of the £225 million announced last year.

Hospitals and military buildings both getting access for capital funding that reduces revenue costs and the public at large gets the benefits. So, congratulations HMG, a sensible use of taxpayers’ money, reducing costs and carbon. It seems there isn’t an accurate count of the number of public sector buildings in the UK, but the space each one occupies gives considerable scope for more investment like this. I, for one, have no qualms with such measures, after all I did install solar PV onto the roof of our offices at Camden House.

Like you all, when government gets things right, we should be supportive, just as when it doesn’t it is also the responsible thing to raise our concerns.